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Special Report

primary, secondary and higher — in Union Budget 2024-25: Major education allocations — I
2024-25 to Rs.1.20 lakh crore, a mere (Rs. crore)
6.9 percent higher than last year Department of School Education & Literacy 2024-25 2023-24 (RE)*
(Rs.1.12 lakh crore). Together with
provisions budgeted for skilling, the Total allocation: Rs.73,008.10 crore
Centre’s total outlay for education 1. Establishment expenditure 55.03 45.80
and skilling aggregates to Rs.1.48
lakh crore. As a percentage of GDP, 2. National Awards to teachers 0.01 nil
the Centre’s provision for education 3. National scholarship schemes 377.01 358.00
of India’s population of children and
youth aggregating over 500 million, is 4. Kendriya Vidyalayas 9,302.67 8,500
0.37 percent of GDP, less than 0.44 5. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas 5,800.00 5,470.00
percent spent in 2023-24. 6. NCERT 510.00 480.00
E VEN THOUGH UNDER THE 7. Transfers to states/UTs 37,500 33,000

Constitution, much of the
Samagra Shiksha
spending on education is
done by state governments (primary-secondary schooling)
(under the Constitution, 8. PM – Poshan 12,467.39 10,000.00
education falls within the concurrent (Nutrition)
list), clearly this provision is grossly 9. Strengthening teaching-learning results 1,250.00 700.00
inadequate. Way back in 1967, the (STARs)
high-powered Kothari Commission 10. PM SHRI 6,050.00 2,800.00
constituted by former Prime Minister (model schools)
Indira Gandhi recommended that an-
nual expenditure (Centre plus states) Source: www.indiabudget.gov.in * Revised expenditure
for public education should be equiv-
alent to 6 percent of GDP. This very The minority who complete
sage advice has been continuously school education are absorbed
disregarded by every government at into low-quality government-
the Centre and in the states. Despite run Arts, Science and Com-
the election manifesto of every major merce colleges which don’t
political party routinely vowing to im- prepare them for formal sec-
plement this critical human resource tor employment. According to
development recommendation, the several authoritative studies
promise has never been redeemed. (McKinsey, Aspiring Minds),
Annual national outlay for education 70-80 percent of India’s college
— to enhance which the Centre should graduates are unemployable in
discharge a leadership role — has nev- the country’s top-ranked com-
er exceeded 4 percent of GDP, averag- Government school children: hard slog panies. Indeed, the Economic
ing 3.5 percent for over seven decades. Survey 2023-24 published by the
The price of open, continuous and literate or numerate for productive Union finance ministry a day before
uninterrupted neglect of public educa- employment. the Union Budget (July 23) admits
tion — the middle class has established Sentenced to hard slog in the coun- “one of two college graduates is un-
a parallel superior private education try’s 1.2 million government schools employable” because of lack of skills.
system which schools 48 percent of defined by crumbling buildings bereft The sin of under-funding founda-
the country’s 265 million in-school of libraries, laboratories, lavatories tional literacy and numeracy has been
children — has been humungous. Over and suffering chronic teacher ab- compounded by the almost total ne-
300 million adults in 21st century In- senteeism, most of over 140 million glect to promote vocational/skills edu-
dia are comprehensively illiterate and school children enrolled are unable to cation. India hosts a mere 15,000 VET
as mentioned above, almost 60 per- clear the stiff entrance exams of the (vocational education and training)
cent of class VIII children (teenagers) few dozen top-ranked undergradu- institutes cf. 500,000 in China. And
in rural India, in which 60 percent ate medical and engineering colleges whereas VET is a respectable stream
of India’s 1.4 billion population are aided (subsidised) by the Central and/ of education in developed OECD
(under)-employed, aren’t sufficiently or state government. countries for higher secondary pass

72 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2024